tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30478679136909470112017-02-06T00:57:35.998-05:00Bruce Lays it Out Good B.L.O.G.A discussion of key political, philosophical, scientific and spiritual questions of our time from a perspective that you won't see on television.Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286286747217122165noreply@blogger.comBlogger81125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047867913690947011.post-43414268686843346712009-04-01T09:51:00.023-04:002009-04-01T11:03:54.265-04:00The US Military: Destroying Our Society $1 Trillion At A TimeI must give credit for this post to Jim Quinn and The Burning Platform dot com for providing the color commentary, data and charts of our disgusting military spending... which continues to increase despite the collapse of the U.S. and world economies. While many of us wonder whether this country will ever recover, the military continues to rake in billions. The charts below tell the story... and remember, these are not <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">stimulus's</span>, nor are they one time budget allocations. This is taxpayer money that is supplied in perpetuity, robbing our country of badly needed resources in the name of building ever more expensive and sophisticated killing machines.<br /><br />Quick, can you name just ONE true enemy that we have in the world?<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Please note, I am freely republishing Mr. Quinn's words in "" as I could say it no better. You can also read what I am publishing and more from his original article <a href="http://theburningplatform.com/economy/war-pigs---cost-of-a-global-empire-1">here</a>.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" class="ls_contents-0" ><br /><p style="font-weight: bold;" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="body1"><span style=";font-family:&quot;;" >“You can't say civilizations don't advance... in every war they kill you in a new way.”</span></span><span style=";font-family:&quot;;color:black;" ><br /></span></p></span><div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;"><span class="ls_contents-0" style="font-size:100%;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style=";font-family:&quot;;color:black;" >Will Rogers</span></p></span></div><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" class="ls_contents-0" > </span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />THE COST OF OUR GLOBAL EMPIRE</span><br /><br /><span style="line-height: 115%; font-style: italic;font-family:&quot;;font-size:100%;color:black;" >"Any doubt that the Military Industrial Complex is as strong as ever should be removed after examining Obama’s 2010 budget just put forth. It calls for 26% more in spending on Defense than President Bush spent in 2006. The Soviet Union collapsed in 1989, leaving the United States as the only remaining superpower on earth. Since 1990, the United States has depleted the U.S. Treasury of </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;color:black;" >$7 trillion</span></span><span style="line-height: 115%; font-style: italic;font-family:&quot;;font-size:100%;color:black;" > for spending on Defense.<br /><br />With no military on earth capable of challenging us why would there be a need to spend this much on the military? Over this same time frame the U.S. spent $360 billion on science, space &amp; technology and $52 billion on energy, a mere 6% of the spending we use for building killing machines. Military expenditures benefit humanity in no way.<span style=""> </span>If these trillions had been invested by the private sector or devoted to energy and scientific research, our economy might not be a hollowed out shell dependent on China and oil exporting countries.<br /><br />Nationalists argue that the Defense industry employs millions and benefits the country. These companies employ brilliant engineers and scientists who spend their days developing things that kill people more efficiently. If they had been employed developing electric cars, solar power, wind power, nuclear power, an efficient electric grid, infrastructure upgrades, or finding a cure for Alzheimer’s, would the United States be better off today?"</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SdN0zlJrt3I/AAAAAAAAARA/f6N7wIMQ--I/s1600-h/U.S._Defense_Spending_-_2006_to_2010.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 459px; height: 343px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SdN0zlJrt3I/AAAAAAAAARA/f6N7wIMQ--I/s400/U.S._Defense_Spending_-_2006_to_2010.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319724014349563762" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br /><br /></span><br /><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style=";font-family:&quot;;font-size:12;color:black;" ><br /></span></p></span></span><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;font-size:12;color:black;" ><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></span></span><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;color:black;" ><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />"You would think we must be trying to keep up with our </span></span></span></span><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;color:black;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">enemies by spending $765 billion per year on the Military. But one look at the following chart reveals that the United States is spending as much as the rest of the world combined. The two countries</span></span></span></span><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;color:black;" ><span style="font-style: italic;"> considered potential rivals, Russia and China, spent $192 billion combined in 2008. This is 27% of U.S. spending. From a foreign perspective, one must wonder why the U.S. i</span></span></span></span><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;color:black;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">s spending such vast quantities on our military. They can only conclude that it is for offensive intentions rather than defensive. The United States soil has not been attacked by a foreign power since December 7, 1941</span></span></span></span><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;color:black;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">. Prior to that surprise attack, a foreign power hadn’t attacked the U.S. since the War of 1812. With this level of spending (see below), our leaders feel compelled to interfere in the business of sovereign nations."</span></span></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SdN76OuAQ1I/AAAAAAAAARg/PkSSBWHCox0/s1600-h/clip_image006.gif"><span class="ls_contents-0"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 404px; height: 448px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SdN76OuAQ1I/AAAAAAAAARg/PkSSBWHCox0/s400/clip_image006.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319731825168368466" border="0" /></span></a></p><span class="ls_contents-0"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;color:black;" ><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;color:black;" ><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;color:black;" ><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;color:black;" ><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;color:black;" ><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;color:black;" ><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;color:black;" ><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;color:black;" ><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;color:black;" ><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;color:black;" ><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;color:black;" ><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;color:black;" ><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;color:black;" ><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;color:black;" ><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;color:black;" >"As the world spends $1.5 trillion per year on new methods of killing, millions die the old fashioned way.</span></span></span></span><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><ul><span class="ls_contents-0" style="font-size:100%;"><li><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;" >13 million people per year die from starvation in the world. </span></li><li><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;" >The FAO says that 854 million people worldwide are undernourished.</span></li><li><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;color:#000000;" >The World Bank has estimated that there were an estimated 982 million poor people in developing countries who live on $1 a day or less.</span></li><li><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;color:#000000;" >For the price of one missile, a school full of hungry children could eat lunch every day for 5 years.</span></li><li><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;color:#000000;" >Poor nutrition plays a role in at least half of the 10.9 million child deaths each year--six million deaths.</span></li><li><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;color:#000000;" lang="EN">1 child dies every 5 seconds as a result of hunger - 700 every hour - 16 000 each day - 6 million each year - 60% of all child deaths (2002-2008 estimates)</span></li></span></ul><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;color:#000000;" lang="EN"><br /></span></span></span><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span class="ls_contents-0" style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></span><span><span><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SdN5V_zqUMI/AAAAAAAAARY/Gdh-LtqByTM/s1600-h/clip_image014%282%29.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 470px; height: 308px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SdN5V_zqUMI/AAAAAAAAARY/Gdh-LtqByTM/s400/clip_image014%282%29.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319729003667017922" border="0" /></a></span></span></span></span><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;font-size:100%;color:black;" ><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;font-size:100%;color:black;" ><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;font-size:100%;color:black;" ><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;font-size:100%;color:black;" ><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;font-size:100%;color:black;" ><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;font-size:100%;color:black;" ><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;font-size:100%;color:black;" ><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;font-size:100%;color:black;" ><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;font-size:100%;color:black;" ><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;font-size:100%;color:black;" ><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;font-size:100%;color:black;" >What kind of a civilized society allocates 44% of the taxes taken from its people to war? Only 2.5% of your taxes go to science, energy, and environment. Only 2.2% of your taxes go to education and jobs. With a population of 304 million, the U.S. spends $59 billion ($194 per person) annually on education. Saudi Arabia, with a population of 28 million, spends $33 billion ($1,179 per person) on education. You </span></span></span><span class="news-body-text-full-span-featured"><span class="ls_contents-0"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;font-size:100%;color:black;" >produce the results that you would expect from your investments. A full 15% of our population doesn’t have a high school diploma (20% of African Americans &amp; 43% of Latinos) and only 27% have a college degree. How do we expect to lead the world in technology and research with these figures?"</span></span></span></p></span></span><span class="ls_contents-0"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span class="ls_contents-0"><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="bodybold1"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: &quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;;"><strong>“My first wish is to see this plague of mankind, war, banished from the earth.”</strong></span></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.5in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span class="bodybold1"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: &quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;; font-weight: normal;">George Washington</span></span></p></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><i style=""><span style=";font-family:&quot;;color:black;" >“</span></i></b><b style=""><i style=""><span style=";font-family:&quot;;" >I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.”</span></i></b></span></p> </span><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="ls_contents-0"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.5in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:&quot;;font-size:100%;" ><span style=""> </span>Dwight D. Eisenhower</span><span class="bodybold1" style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;font-size:12;" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><br /></strong></span></span></i></span></p></span><span class="ls_contents-0"> </span><span class="ls_contents-0"> </span><span class="ls_contents-0"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.5in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span class="bodybold1" style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;font-size:12;" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong></strong></span></span></i></span></p></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="ls_contents-0"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.5in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></p></span><br /><span class="ls_contents-0"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.5in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span class="bodybold1" style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&quot;;font-size:12;" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong></strong></span></span></i></span></p></span></div></div><span class="ls_contents-0"> </span><span class="ls_contents-0"> </span><span class="ls_contents-0"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-family:&quot;;font-size:12;" ><br /></span></p></span>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286286747217122165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047867913690947011.post-24713956357536622932009-03-12T16:53:00.005-04:002009-03-12T17:14:05.172-04:00Fun with Jon Stewart and CNBCThe war between the comedy news world and the comedy financial news world is heating up. Jim Cramer has attacked back and is now in a full on bloody war of words with Jon Stewart. This one he can't possibly win.<br /><br /><style type="text/css">.cc_box a:hover .cc_home{background:url('http://www.comedycentral.com/comedycentral/video/assets/syndicated-logo-over.png') !important;}.cc_links a{color:#b9b9b9;text-decoration:none;}.cc_show a{color:#707070;text-decoration:none;}.cc_title a{color:#868686;text-decoration:none;}.cc_links a:hover{color:#67bee2;text-decoration:underline;</style><div class="cc_box" style="position: relative;"><a href="http://www.comedycentral.com/" target="_blank" style="display: inline; float: left; width: 60px; height: 31px;"><div class="cc_home" style="border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(207, 207, 207); border-width: 1px 0px 0px 1px; background: transparent url(http://www.comedycentral.com/comedycentral/video/assets/syndicated-logo-out.png) repeat scroll 0% 0%; float: left; width: 60px; height: 31px; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"></div></a><div style="border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(207, 207, 207); border-width: 1px 1px 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; float: left; width: 299px; height: 31px; color: rgb(112, 112, 112); position: relative;"><div class="cc_show" style="overflow: hidden; position: relative; background-color: rgb(229, 229, 229); padding-left: 3px; height: 14px; padding-top: 2px;"><a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/" target="_blank">The Daily Show With Jon Stewart</a><span style="position: absolute; top: 2px; right: 3px;">M - Th 11p / 10c</span></div><div class="cc_title" style="padding: 1px 3px 3px; overflow: hidden; font-size: 11px; color: rgb(134, 134, 134); background-color: rgb(245, 245, 245); line-height: 14px; height: 21px;"><a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=220288&amp;title=in-cramer-we-trust" target="_blank">In Cramer We Trust</a></div></div><embed style="float: left; clear: left;" src="http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:220288" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="window" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="autoPlay=false" allowscriptaccess="always" allownetworking="all" bgcolor="#000000" width="360" height="301"></embed><div class="cc_links" style="border-style: none solid solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color rgb(207, 207, 207) rgb(207, 207, 207); border-width: 0px 1px 1px; float: left; clear: left; width: 358px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; color: rgb(185, 185, 185); background-color: rgb(245, 245, 245);"><div style="width: 177px; float: left; padding-left: 3px;"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/index.jhtml">Daily Show Full Episodes</a><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/important_things/index.jhtml">Important Things With Demetri Martin</a></div><div style="width: 177px; float: left;"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.indecisionforever.com/">Political Humor</a><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/tagSearchResults.jhtml?term=Clusterf%23%40k+to+the+Poor+House">Economic Crisis</a></div><div style="clear: both;"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><fieldset class="zemanta-related"><legend class="zemanta-related-title">Related articles by Zemanta</legend><ul class="zemanta-article-ul"><li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.yesbutnobutyes.com/archives/2009/03/jim_cramer_resp.html">Jim Cramer Responds to Jon Stewart</a> (yesbutnobutyes.com)</li><li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2009/03/10/nbc-stars-whimper-ab.html">NBC Stars Whimper About Jon Stewart's Skewering of CNBC</a> (boingboing.net)</li><li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://randomthougts101.blogspot.com/2009/03/cnbc-makes-daily-shows-shit-list.html">CNBC Makes Daily Show's Shit List</a> (randomthougts101.blogspot.com)</li></ul></fieldset> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/1c6b329e-9626-4f02-a5e0-0795ec1d8527/" title="Zemified by Zemanta"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=1c6b329e-9626-4f02-a5e0-0795ec1d8527" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286286747217122165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047867913690947011.post-65229090431460866852009-03-06T14:46:00.006-05:002009-03-12T16:52:13.116-04:00Jon Stewart Eviscerates CNBCIn what is clearly the best reporting anyone has seen on our financial catastrophe is (no surprise) Jon <a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0829537/" title="Jon Stewart" rel="imdb">Stewart</a>. He exposed <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">CNBC</span> for their inept reporting and outright criminal misrepresentation of our system's financial collapse. From <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">HuffPo</span>:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The most talked-about journalism of this week wasn't produced in the </span><em style="font-style: italic;">New York Times</em><span style="font-style: italic;">, CNN, </span><em style="font-style: italic;">Newsweek</em><span style="font-style: italic;"> or NPR. It was </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2009/03/jon-stewart-vs.html">Jon Stewart's epic, eight-minute <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">takedown</span></a><span style="font-style: italic;"> on Wednesday night's </span><em style="font-style: italic;">Daily Show</em><span style="font-style: italic;"> of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">CNBC's</span> clueless, in-the-tank reporting of inflatable bubbles and blowhard <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">CEOs</span> as the U.S. and world economies slowly slid into a meltdown. You can quibble about Stewart's motives in undertaking the piece -- after he was spurned for an interview by <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">CNBC's</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">faux</span> populist ranter Rick <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Santelli</span> -- but you can't argue with the results.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">But that's not all. The Stewart piece also got the kind of eyeballs that most newsrooms would kill for in this digital age -- planted atop many, many major political, media and business Web sites -- and the kind of water-cooler chatter that journalists would crave in any age. In a time when </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.rockymountainnews.com/">newspapers are flat-out dying</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> if not dealing with bankruptcy or massive job losses, while other types of news <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">orgs</span> aren't faring much better, the journalistic success of a comedy show rant shouldn't be viewed as a stick in the eye -- but a teachable moment. Why be a </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://eatsleeppublish.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-newspaper-curmudgeon-talking-points/">curmudgeon</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> about kids today getting all their news from a comedy show, when it's not really that hard to join Stewart in his own idol-smashing game?</span><br /><br />Watch:<br /><br /><br /><style type="text/css">.cc_box a:hover .cc_home{background:url('http://www.comedycentral.com/comedycentral/video/assets/syndicated-logo-over.png') !important;}.cc_links a{color:#b9b9b9;text-decoration:none;}.cc_show a{color:#707070;text-decoration:none;}.cc_title a{color:#868686;text-decoration:none;}.cc_links a:hover{color:#67bee2;text-decoration:underline;}</style><div class="cc_box" style="position: relative;"><a href="http://www.comedycentral.com/" target="_blank" style="display: inline; float: left; width: 60px; height: 31px;"><div class="cc_home" style="border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(207, 207, 207); border-width: 1px 0px 0px 1px; background: transparent url(http://www.comedycentral.com/comedycentral/video/assets/syndicated-logo-out.png) repeat scroll 0% 0%; float: left; width: 60px; height: 31px; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"></div></a><div style="border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(207, 207, 207); border-width: 1px 1px 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; float: left; width: 299px; height: 31px; color: rgb(112, 112, 112); position: relative;"><div class="cc_show" style="overflow: hidden; position: relative; background-color: rgb(229, 229, 229); padding-left: 3px; height: 14px; padding-top: 2px;"><a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/" target="_blank">The Daily Show With Jon Stewart</a><span style="position: absolute; top: 2px; right: 3px;">M - Th 11p / 10c</span></div><div class="cc_title" style="padding: 1px 3px 3px; overflow: hidden; font-size: 11px; color: rgb(134, 134, 134); background-color: rgb(245, 245, 245); line-height: 14px; height: 21px;"><a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=220252&amp;title=cnbc-gives-financial-advice" target="_blank"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">CNBC</span> Gives Financial Advice</a></div></div><embed style="float: left; clear: left;" src="http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:220252" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="window" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="autoPlay=false" allowscriptaccess="always" allownetworking="all" bgcolor="#000000" width="360" height="301"></embed><div class="cc_links" style="border-style: none solid solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color rgb(207, 207, 207) rgb(207, 207, 207); border-width: 0px 1px 1px; float: left; clear: left; width: 358px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; color: rgb(185, 185, 185); background-color: rgb(245, 245, 245);"><div style="width: 177px; float: left; padding-left: 3px;"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/index.jhtml">Daily Show Full Episodes</a><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/important_things/index.jhtml">Important Things With Demetri Martin</a></div><div style="width: 177px; float: left;"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.indecisionforever.com/">Political Humor</a><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.jokes.com/">Joke of the Day</a></div><div style="clear: both;"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div></div><fieldset class="zemanta-related"><legend class="zemanta-related-title">Related articles by Zemanta</legend><ul class="zemanta-article-ul"><li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.thenewspundit.com/2009/03/11/jon-stewart-takes-on-cnbc/">Jon Stewart takes on CNBC</a> (thenewspundit.com)</li></ul></fieldset> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/fd20bac4-52c4-4b2b-8c36-cfa4d61b3837/" title="Zemified by Zemanta"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=fd20bac4-52c4-4b2b-8c36-cfa4d61b3837" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286286747217122165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047867913690947011.post-79146483072687222232009-03-05T14:47:00.003-05:002009-03-05T14:56:30.854-05:00Bruce is gonna lay it out againAfter a 6 month hiatus, I am going to REBOOT my blog.<br /><br />I know there are thousands of you out there that have been missing reading my blog on a daily basis, so this will no doubt come as welcome news.<br /><br />My focus will be on global geopolitical challenges of the Obama Administration with a focus on information you WON'T SEE ON TELEVISION.<br /><br />In the meantime, enjoy the new "freak of nature" reported by our friend at Fox Snews.<br /><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,287938,00.html"><br />http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,287938,00.html</a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SbAuT3FftfI/AAAAAAAAAQY/v5Y8l_RA7lM/s1600-h/Picture+1.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 206px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SbAuT3FftfI/AAAAAAAAAQY/v5Y8l_RA7lM/s400/Picture+1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309794879409206770" border="0" /></a>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286286747217122165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047867913690947011.post-2075731984432070252008-08-12T19:24:00.013-04:002008-08-12T20:37:57.350-04:00What's Really Happening in Georgia and Why Should We Care?I haven't posted in a while... I'm preparing to reshape my blog into a series of "chapters" about my thoughts on the how the world really works, how we relate to that world view, and then provide some thoughts on how we can overcome what is clearly a world careening toward catastrophe.<br /><br />Today, I have to reference a bit of B.L.O.G. history about Caspian Sea oil and the South Asia Basin... the largest field of untapped oil and gas in the world. By understanding the immense <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">geo</span>-strategic importance of Georgia, we can have a glimpse at what is the real motive behind the Russian attack and perhaps peer into what can be a potentially volatile future for the Caucus region.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Mikhail</span> Gorbachev said not too long ago <span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><strong>"By declaring the Caucasus, a region that is thousands of miles from the American continent, a sphere of its 'national interest,' the United States made a serious blunder." </strong></span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:10;" ><strong><br /></strong></span><br />I'm not so sure he's correct as there is no country that is militarily even close to our catastrophically mammoth military might. Interesting to note that I have mentioned our strategic interest in this region so many times I can't even count. Our entire foreign and military policy is based on securing the riches of the former Soviet Republics, and then securing pipeline routes to move the oil and gas to U.S. dominated regions... essentially cutting off the Russians from the spoils.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SKIqLz9DYjI/AAAAAAAAAL4/iezCJFgVIN0/s1600-h/Picture+1.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SKIqLz9DYjI/AAAAAAAAAL4/iezCJFgVIN0/s400/Picture+1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5233792099371147826" border="0" /></a>In my post of May 29, "What About Those <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Stans</span>, and Why Should I Care?", I posted the following pipeline map that clearly points out what informed sources are saying about the Russian invasion. The Russians are exerting their influence in the Caucus region and is acting out of frustration that the U.S. has completely taken control of the region, and thus its natural resources and potential wealth.<br /><br />Note the Baku-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Tblisi</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Ceyhan</span> pipeline going right through Georgia. Now check out what Al-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Jazeera</span> has to say about its role in this conflict:<br /><p style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">"The Baku-Tbilisi-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Ceyhan</span> (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">BTC</span>) oil pipeline runs through Georgia, allowing the US access to oil and gas supplies not pumped through Russia to the north or Iran to the south.</p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">'Underlying all this is a larger, more significant contest: a geopolitical struggle between Russia and the West over the export of Caspian Sea oil and natural gas,' Michael <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Klare</span>, the author of Resource Wars told the <em>New American Media</em> website.'</p> The belief in Western Circles is that the close relationship between the U.S. and Georgia is primarily based on this pipeline and other <span style="font-style: italic;">yet to be discovered</span> energy projects between the big 4 oil companies and countries in this region.<br /><br />No doubt this Russian adventure sent chills throughout all of the former Soviet Republics and while it sent a very clear signal that "Russia is mad as hell and isn't gonna take it anymore", its my belief that the very opposite of its objectives will happen. They will push the oil rich <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Stans</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">geo</span>-politically well situated countries further into the U.S. sphere to gain protection and finances to protect them from Russian adventures. (Assuming they trust the U.S., clearly Georgia learned the hard way that we can't be trusted to provide them protection.) A more aggressive stance by the Russians will not help them one bit to exert influence... similarly how U.S. invasions of countries has produced as many enemies and problems for us as it has real strategic advantages.<br /><br />I believe this will backfire so hard on the Russians that it almost feels as if Georgia provoked the attack in order to demonstrate that the Russians are nothing more than newly emboldened bullies that cannot be trusted. It smacked of Bush-like foreign policy that inevitably backfires and scares no one. I imagine that in some circles in Moscow this helped to signal an end to Russian weakness and impotence on foreign policy but also sent a powerful message to the nations of the world that the Russians are no more sophisticated at handling sensitive regional conflicts that would engender a greater level of trust from their neighbors or a signal of their maturity as a world power and power broker.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SKIi_le1JGI/AAAAAAAAALw/n_g_VwygIX0/s1600-h/Picture+2.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 279px; height: 239px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SKIi_le1JGI/AAAAAAAAALw/n_g_VwygIX0/s400/Picture+2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5233784192746464354" border="0" /></a>Candidly, this will inevitably serve to embolden NATO to move quickly at expanding their reach toward Russia to secure those vital energy <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">corridors</span> that Georgia sits right in the center of. The first and very powerful indication of this is the NATO brokered ceasefire and the presence of leaders from Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia at the rally celebrating the cease fire in <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Tbilisi</span>. (Picture on the left.)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Some other random thoughts about this event:<br /><br />-The complete and total <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">absence</span> of U.S. influence once the war started. A stark and chilling reminder of our declining influence diplomatically and another demonstration of the total incompetence of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Condoleeza</span> Rice... who is supposed to be an expert in Russian affairs. (Yeah sure.)<br /><br />-The clear indication that this attack was planned well in advance given the size and scope of the operation and the amount of armor the Russians had lined up along the Georgian border.<br /><br />-Given the size of the Russian operation, there is NO WAY the U.S. did not know that a Russian operation was in the planning with our fleet of spy satellites watching every single ant, bee and beetle that even moves within a thousand mile range of the Caucus... now viewed as a strategic bastion of the United States<br /><br />-The rising influence of the French <span id="UsrStory1_lblBodyArticle" class="pspacer">President Nicolas <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Sarkozy</span> and French influence over world events in general. They seem to be at the center of the action when it comes to the Middle East (particularly Iran), and its stronger relationships with important geopolitical/military powers such as Israel and China.<br /><br />Watch Putin put a spin on the military action in the video below... and his veiled threats at the United States. The U.S. military has been drooling at the possibility of a heightened threat with the Russians and I can't help but think that behind the scenes we have manipulated events to enable this to happen and will no doubt continue to bait the Russians into a self-destructive set of aggressive policies that we will use to create a more "dangerous world".<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5YQP1WmJp58&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5YQP1WmJp58&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object></span>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286286747217122165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047867913690947011.post-26218365453752068562008-07-29T19:50:00.004-04:002008-07-29T20:03:28.736-04:00Forget This Election Nonsense, Let's Join With Al GoreThe <a href="http://www.wecansolveit.org/">WE</a> folks have developed a "blogger" version of the Al Gore challenge so folks like myself can get the word out. I not only want to get the word out... I want to scream it in 600 million deaf American ears... <span style="font-weight: bold;">HELLO... WE'VE GOT A PROBLEM AND NO ONE BUT AL SEEMS TO BE DOING ANYTHING OF ANY REAL CONSEQUENCE!!!<br /></span><br />By far and away, the most critically important issue of our time and even the congress can't pass a single piece of legislation providing tax relief to people installing solar panels. Its so pathetic... you know they care nothing about us or about future generations.<br /><br />I want nothing more than to see the twilight of oil in the coming decade and the corner gas station to be something we remember fondly like the milkman bring glass bottles of milk and leaving it in a steel container in my garage as a child.<br /><br />10 years... its not even THAT hard. The hardest part is asking lazy slobbering stupid Americans to change their slovenly, lazy habits and accept the world is no longer theirs to plunder. I'll stop... and let Al speak... he's just as brutal... but he offers a solution. WATCH IT!! I love how they have Buffalo Springfield playing in the background... it gives that 60's revolutionary spirit that we so badly need again.<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NAnQ1cFA_zM&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NAnQ1cFA_zM&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286286747217122165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047867913690947011.post-80521560106027052662008-07-28T13:43:00.004-04:002008-07-28T13:53:09.847-04:00Terrific New MoveOn.org AdJust got this sent to me.... <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">MoveOn</span>.org is raising money to air this ad nationally (see below). I hope they raise enough because its wonderful in that it brings a new tone to political advertising with a tongue in cheek message that Americans love. Why? Everything is bad news today... I think the one who can present something realistically optimistic but also asks (nicely) for appropriate sacrifice will win. Candidly... I can't imagine a scenario where old man McCain (who has NEVER SENT AN EMAIL) could possibly win the presidency.<br /><br />Yes, that's right. He's never sent an email. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Oy</span>... could you imagine this clown winning?... we'd be in deep deep trouble.<br /><br />I saw a funny shirt the other day. It looked like a McCain campaign shirt... had the logo and everything. But it said, McCain, 1908. Funny stuff. Enjoy the ad and then go <a href="https://pol.moveon.org/donate/brainonhope.html?id=13342-9440133-q4JW0ax&amp;t=3">here</a> and donate.<br /><br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/BncNpB6IZ9I&amp;rel=0&amp;fs=1"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/BncNpB6IZ9I&amp;rel=0&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286286747217122165noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047867913690947011.post-25972642550880756212008-07-27T21:01:00.005-04:002008-07-28T14:07:30.906-04:00We Need Hunter S. Thompson Back, BadlyI just saw "Gonzo", the documentary of Hunter S. Thompson. It made me depressed.<br /><br />There was a day in America where a journalist like him could write with a style all his own and was not afraid to print whatever he thought and whatever he felt. This type of "gonzo" journalism is non-existent today, as writers must take everything very seriously, or nothing seriously at all (other than keeping their jobs), and hold dear to their hearts a world view that incorporates the existing model of reality and assumptions, and write solely within the confines of a very tightly defined world view of how and why our world runs the way it does.<br /><br />Thompson stuck his middle finger up at American civilization and said, screw you... I'm gonna find this American Dream and when I do, I'm going to kick all of your asses with it. What struck me was this lack of fear that he <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">possessed</span> in writing what he saw, or making it all up all along the way for his own amusement. In a powerful way, this was a metaphor for the inanity of American life as well as the American dream itself, and exposes the incomprehensible ignorance of Americans about their own system of beliefs, government and the world around them. He stuck America's nose in it and laughed all along the way.<br /><br />Today, there is a blight of this kind of writing, reporting and courageousness of conviction. Who would ever be courageous enough in 2003 to get up on the Tim <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Russert</span> show and say the whole gang in the White House is a bunch of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">lyers and thieves</span>. <span style="font-weight: bold;">He did</span>. No one else dared. And as you watch the interview below... just think about how the prevailing view at that time is so completely different now. Think about how RIGHT HE WAS... and ignorant the rest of our society was to let the criminals take over under the phony, cynical banner of Patriotism. The criminals that run our country were exposed... oh, but only on the misdemeanors. The real crimes have yet to come out. How silly and naive America was to believe that they were ever telling the truth about anything. Isn't there anyone out there that realizes that its ALL a lie? Not just SOME THINGS?<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Oh yes, Al <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Queda</span> brought the buildings down, that's what they say. That's true.. they only lied about the things we can handle.. such as the secret prisons and the torture and the spying on American citizens and the lies about the intelligence and blah blah blah. But oh yes, Al <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Queda</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">DEFINITELY</span> brought those buildings down. They sure did cause that's what they told us.</span><br /><br />When... when, will anyone <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">realize</span> that its all a lie? None of it is true. And when will the spirit of Hunter S. Thompson come back and help to expose this lie ONCE AGAIN to a public that has no conception of its own history and how it continues a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">repetitive</span> cycle of no purpose wars (other than the obvious... money and American financial hegemony... that would be GREED).<br /><br />So today, I mourn for us all as we debate the same <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">inane</span> stupidity of wars fought by a race of beasts known as the human race. We haven't evolved an inch since we came out of the cave. Our greedy and feckless politicians seeking only to satisfy their own egos and wallets and worst of all it is so bad, that we are now living in a society in which a <span style="font-weight: bold;">private citizen (Al Gore)</span> must get up and challenge us to save our own lives from global warming <span style="font-weight: bold;">while not one elected official has done a single thing</span> to save our society from its own destruction.<br /><br />Hunter, we wish you had stayed around to help us out now. We desperately need you.<br /><br /><br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NJxRE7LNadI&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NJxRE7LNadI&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286286747217122165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047867913690947011.post-23452360410661260122008-07-25T10:15:00.008-04:002008-11-13T05:32:35.644-05:00Berlin Also Hopes For Sanity in America<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SInhBu2CzWI/AAAAAAAAALg/7Ewe5fDNjaM/s1600-h/Picture+1.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SInhBu2CzWI/AAAAAAAAALg/7Ewe5fDNjaM/s400/Picture+1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226956262410997090" border="0" /></a>A picture says a thousand words. Perhaps, in this case, 200,000 words. If I asked you a year and a half ago if you thought that an American politician who may become president could summon 200,000 screaming Berliners to the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Tiergarten</span> for an historic speech... you probably would have thought I was crazy.<br /><br />Now, try to imagine in your minds eye John McCain standing up there with all those thousands of screaming fans excited about what he has to say and what he stands for. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">C'mon</span>, just try for a second.<br /><br />Can't do it... why? Because it would never happen. Having gone to Berlin 2 years ago, I was powerfully struck by how this city, more than any other, represents the cornerstone of modern history. I need not go through all of the events in the past century that has made this so, but Berlin is a city that represented the dividing line of global tension and yet, has once again transformed itself into a world class city that respects art, history, and its place in the world in the most sober and reflective manner... more than any other place I have ever seen.<br /><br />From the Holocaust Memorial to the Jewish Museum, to the rebuilding of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Reichstag</span>... the city is reborn as a jewel of contemporary thought, art, architecture, progressive thinking and civic pride. The city has taken great pains to permanently enshrine its history, both good and bad, and provide a global symbol for what could be. For this very reason, it is every American politician's dream to give speeches in Berlin for it is in itself, the most powerful symbol of the best and worst of humanity.<br /><br />This forms the backdrop of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Barak</span> speech. Having watched it, I saw the same gentleman who has captivated millions here, and did so again over there. Yet, some if not most of our <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">MSM</span>, never to waste an opportunity to criticize even at the most inappropriate time, has found fault in his short 25 minute speech. Does the New York Times realize that there is a time and a place for everything when they say in their headline: <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">"<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Obama</span>, Vague on Issues, Pleases Crowd in Germany"</span>? Or David Brooks in his Op Ed piece:<br /><p style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">"But he has grown accustomed to putting on this sort of saccharine show for the rock concert masses, and in Berlin his act jumped the shark. His words drift far from reality, and not only when talking about the Senate Banking Committee. His Berlin Victory Column treacle would have made Niebuhr sick to his stomach. </p><p style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Obama</span> has benefited from a week of good images. But substantively, optimism without reality <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">isn</span>’t eloquence. It’s just Disney."</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Does David Brooks think that a presidential candidate on tour in Germany is obligated to give a hard nose policy speech to 200,000 hopeful Germans that the United States has not transformed into the Nazi Germany of their past?</span> Because from their vantage point, we have become dangerously close. What is this small mindedness? What did they expect to hear from him? </p>Any idiot knows that he was there to give more of the same type of beautifully spoken rhetorical speeches that has made him famous throughout the world because of one simple and elegant idea... he represents the best of our hopes and dreams, and the rest of the world's. Could the New York Times have simply acknowledged that the purpose of this speech was opium for the masses and nothing more.<br /><br />This was not the time, nor the place for specific policy speeches and hard nose thinking. The distinct purpose of this speech was to let the Germans have a close up glimpse of the next President of the United States and hold a glimmer of hope that we are not the monsters that they have seen over the past 7 years. He succeeded. David Brooks... you're wrong and you're small minded. Just because you are growing tired of this rhetoric, does not mean that the Germans or anyone else is... particularly when the man is not yet president, and therefore appropriate to be short on specifics and long on values.<br /><br />I'll let you make up your own mind... the speech:<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OAhb06Z8N1c&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OAhb06Z8N1c&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286286747217122165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047867913690947011.post-38718793291997844782008-07-19T12:47:00.009-04:002008-11-13T05:32:35.879-05:00Hillarious: Colbert's "Make John McCain Exciting Challenge"The full name is of the episode is "Make John McCain More Exciting Green Screen Challenge." No doubt inspired from the now infamous "Kermit the Frog green backdrop with no makeup on I look nearly dead speech" the same night that Obama won the nomination in front of tens of thousands of screaming fans. An evening for the history books. Ahhh, the good ole days. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SIIgGL61lMI/AAAAAAAAALY/xgzNLYAVAVE/s1600-h/Picture+1.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 163px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SIIgGL61lMI/AAAAAAAAALY/xgzNLYAVAVE/s400/Picture+1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224773808354071746" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Anyway, Colbert has put the challenge out and the videos coming in are way too hilarious. Enjoy:<br /><br /><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxQCoUSkr6Ilej-SqKH5VbM2P5SMINSgulwfRpSrsnUHJRgslES6RozjFyXCPzRC15JbU2fIUYGmflv2ckU-g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' FRAMEBORDER='0' />Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286286747217122165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047867913690947011.post-12944177880627116302008-07-19T12:15:00.006-04:002008-11-13T05:32:35.983-05:00ACLU Files Suit, and Publisheds NY Times ADThe ACLU collected 65,000 names in a few short days and place many of them in a full page ad in the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">NY Times</span>. Unfortunately, they only made it to M, and my name doesn't show up :(. But the ad is great, so I thought I'd share.<br /><br />First, and intro from the ACLU email blast I got this morning:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-size:100%;">The ACLU filed a landmark lawsuit last week to stop the government from conducting surveillance under a new wiretapping law that gives the Bush administration virtually unchecked power to intercept Americans' international e-mails and telephone calls.<br /><br />The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">FISA</span> Amendments Act of 2008, passed by Congress and signed</span></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-size:100%;"> by President Bush, not only legalizes the secret <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">warrantless</span> surveillance program the president approved in late 2001, it gives the government new spying powers, including the power to conduct dragnet surveillance of Americans' international communications. And, by granting telecoms immunity, it has greatly harmed the chances of ever learning the extent of the administration’s lawless actions.<br /><br />Our lawsuit was filed on behalf of an impressive array of professionals -- journalists, human rights organizations and lawyers-- whose ability to perform their work will be greatly compromised by this new law.<br /><br />Our clients include <em>The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Natio</span></em>n magazine and two of its contributing journalists, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Service Employees International Union (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">SEIU</span>) and more.<br /><br />Because of the nature of their calls and e-mails, our clients believe that their communications are likely to be monitored under the new law. Even the looming possibility of this surveillance disrupts their ability to talk with sources, locate witnesses, conduct scholarship, and engage in advocacy. </span><br /><br /></span>The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Thursday, and asks the judge to stay the implementation of the new powers, until its constitutionality is determined. It was filed on behalf of Naomi Klein, (whose recent book "Shock Doctrine" is a must read if you want to know anything about how the corporate elite governs us.) Klein stated "if the U.S. government is given unchecked surveillance power to monitor reporters' confidential sources, my ability to do this work will be seriously compromised." <a href="http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/07/aclu-challenges.html">(Blog Wired)</a><br /><br />The Ad: (click on it to find YOUR name)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SIIWxIpyAlI/AAAAAAAAALQ/fgjqjnZkk6w/s1600-h/ACLUFISANYTFINAL2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SIIWxIpyAlI/AAAAAAAAALQ/fgjqjnZkk6w/s400/ACLUFISANYTFINAL2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224763551095325266" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" ><br /></span>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286286747217122165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047867913690947011.post-52562019572507116962008-07-18T12:27:00.004-04:002008-07-18T12:46:38.471-04:00Wouldn't It Be Great To See Rove In JailRobert <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Greenwald</span></span> and Brave New Films have launched a campaign to pressure Congress to hold Rove in contempt for not honoring the Subpoena by the House Judiciary Committee. He invoked Executive Privilege and now it will be interesting to see if they have the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">cojones</span></span> to vote to hold him in contempt and throw him in jail.<br /><br />By the way, the cellar of the Capital Building has a jail cell and they actually could lock him up there. Wouldn't that be a sight... oh we can only dream. The Democrats have proven their merit... they are weak, cowardly and greedy and won't do anything, further weakening their authority. Its a pity that Congressional Democrats have proven time and again that they are truly PATHETIC and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">EMBARRASSING</span> to their <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">constituents</span>. <br /><br />A dizzying array of new organizations are being formed to hold them accountable to the people that elected them.... check out <a href="http://accountabilitynowpac.com/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">AccountabilityNowPac</span> and Strange <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Befellows</span></a> to see this burgeoning movement which will be placing alternative Democrats and Republicans up for election this year and it could get real interesting to make these Democrats pay dearly for pushing forward the Bush agenda. <span style="font-weight: bold;">I am rooting that they every single one of the Democrats who voted for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">FISA</span> be fired by the electorate. </span><br /><br />On a lighter note, watch Brave New Films 3 minute feature on Dear Carl Rove, American Patriot and give money or make phone calls. I'm doubtful Congress will act. But I've been wrong (I think) just once before :-).<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/BWQ5ZMnz25I&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0xb1a89e&amp;color2=0xb1a89e&amp;hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/BWQ5ZMnz25I&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0xb1a89e&amp;color2=0xb1a89e&amp;hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286286747217122165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047867913690947011.post-71420217654347637182008-07-18T08:35:00.007-04:002008-07-18T09:06:46.120-04:00I've Got Them Tennessee BluesA friend and colleague wrote this short short story last night about a famous man from Tennessee. My friend is a Republican (yes, I have a Republican friend... don't ask) and we attempt to torture each other with propaganda from both Reds and Blues to prove each other wrong. Of course, he can never truly win this battle as I believe the Democrats are as corrupt as the Republicans, they just act like they're not.<br /><br />The Republicans --- they just flip us the bird and flatten another country to seize their black gold and secretly spy on us like Nixon on steroids and Crystal Meth. I digress.<br /><br />My friend/colleague wrote a wonderful story about a man from Tennessee and eloquently imagines the ghosts that haunt this man. Its probably a very accurate portrayal. So, I thought I'd share. Enjoy.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Tennessee Blues</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The warm night air embraces the soft Tennessee breeze as it caresses</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> the white silk drapes of an unlit bathroom window.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> The summer moon glows, illuminating the bathroom to reveal a man in</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> his late 50s, unrecognizable from the stately speeches, camera flashes</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> and brilliant smile. He lowers his head and the weight of the world</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> weighs down upon his shoulders. He thinks again of the day when his</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> future was before him... before the Florida waves washed away his</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> chances for political immortality.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> The magazines, newspaper articles and editorials tout his name now in</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> even bigger bolder letters. He can still hear the cheers from the</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> recent sold out lecture halls and stadiums, shouting, chanting his</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> name... yet the man who has known so much popularity and public</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> affection stares somberly in the mirror... secretly... deeply longing</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> for something else, something more, a relentless, unceasing incessant</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> desire for another name to be chanted... Mr. President</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> The man sighs heavily as he closes the bathroom door and walks back to</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> his bed...</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> "There is always the environment" he mutters to himself as he closes</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">his eyes and attempts once again to fall asleep.</span><br /></div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286286747217122165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047867913690947011.post-34474748124019874312008-07-15T23:58:00.005-04:002008-07-16T00:40:35.845-04:00Toward a Deeper Understanding Of Our RealityIn an effort to pull myself away from the distractions of day to day politics, I want to refocus my attention of theory and ideas about the challenges we face as a society and provide a range of points of view about the problems we are <span style="font-weight: bold;">actually</span> facing.<br /><br />One of the theories that I espouse is that the agenda of public discourse is fed TO US... that we as <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">bloggers</span>, we as citizens and even we as consumers do not have control over the agenda of what is discussed nor the underlying assumptions of what is true that drives public discourse. For example, you would have to believe that there actually is a "war on terror" to have a discussion about how to "win" this war. <br /><br />Yet, I firmly believe that the "war on terror" is a movie played out in the cinema of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">newstainment</span> and used as a propaganda tool to make people afraid and seek help from the government to allay their fears. It works perfectly into the agenda of the bomb, plane and submarine manufacturers. No war, no bombs. War, need bombs. Real Simple Math.<br /><br />I came across a paper on a site managed by a non-profit online publishing entity called <a href="http://axisoflogic.com/">"Axis of Logic"</a>. In their mission statement, they say:<br /><p style="font-style: italic;"><span class="arttext"><strong><u>Presuppositions and World View</u></strong></span></p> <p style="font-style: italic;"><span class="arttext">We readily confess our own set of presuppositions: Our world view consists of ideals for world peace; democracy (i.e. self-governance by the people); self-determination of all nations (people); respect for national sovereignty; noninterference in the domestic affairs of any nation by foreign governments; fair and just economic systems; responsibility for the preservation and protection of nature and compassion for ourselves and our fellow human beings.</span></p> <hr style="width: 216px; font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" > <span style="font-style: italic;" class="arttext"> </span><p style="font-style: italic;"><span class="arttext"><strong><u>The Enemy</u></strong></span></p> <p style="font-style: italic;"><span class="arttext">We identify "Corporate Global Empire" as our common foe and the enemy of the people. We believe that all current, viable political parties in the U.S. are in service to the empire and do not represent the people. We are not to be identified as "Democrats", "Republicans", "Capitalists", "Communists" or "Socialists", "Progressives" or with any label that can be reduced to a religion, organization or any other "ism". We offer no such target for attack by the enemies of the truth.</span></p>For those of you who have read what I have to say, you can immediately see areas of agreement here... so I have great interest in what they do and the papers they publish. One paper I came across that I wish to share is from Jason Miller. Jason is associate editor of Cyrano's Journal Online... a Marxist leaning website that talks much about the antiquated "class struggle". While I found Cyrano not to be my style, I nevertheless found Jason's paper posted on Axis of Logic to be compelling, brutally truthful and perhaps a bit harsh... but sincerely passionate and mostly right... if not a bit simplistic.<br /><br />The paper is entitled "The Toddler King's Insufferable Reign Is Doomed". The thesis is that we are essentially psychologically managed by TELEVISION and have become a selfish, childish and self-righteous bunch that will see its own demise... or as he states <span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >"</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" class="arttext" >But there are some pretty long odds against enough of us shedding our grotesquely malformed psyches and evolving beyond our state of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">infantilization</span> before the <st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on">American Way</st1:address></st1:street> of Life collapses under the weight of its own excrement or is eradicated by its hordes of victims."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><span class="arttext" style="font-size:100%;">Obviously, this is opinion... but its the facts that he presents that I find compelling and wish to share. Again, they are tainted...and distinctly anti-Israel (which makes me somewhat uncomfortable), but the purpose of my summer postings is to examine a range of points of view and present them in an objective manner and then discuss them on their own merits. I will <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">plagiarize</span> his facts and allow them to speak for themselves:<br /><br /></span><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; font-weight: bold;"><span class="arttext" style="font-size:100%;">If you don’t know the stats, you’<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">ve</span> been <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">somnambulating</span>, but here are a few:</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="arttext"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in; font-weight: bold;"><span class="arttext" style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">1.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" ><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span></span></span>We are 5% of the population and siphon off 30% of the world’s goodies, while 35,000 people starve to death each day.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in; font-weight: bold;"><span class="arttext" style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">2.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" ><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span></span></span>We, the land of the free, exercise a higher degree of social control than even those “tyrants” in <st1:country-region st="on">China</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Russia</st1:place></st1:country-region>. We have the world’s largest prison population, many of whom are non-violent drug offenders. And then there’s our clever way of imposing our agenda in <st1:place st="on">Latin America</st1:place> via the “War on Drugs…..”</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in; font-weight: bold;"><span class="arttext" style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">3.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" ><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span></span></span>We lost about 500,000 people in WWII while <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Russia</st1:place></st1:country-region> lost over 20 million yet we arrogantly boast that WE “defeated fascism.” And that’s not to mention the fact that many of our beloved capitalists, including members of the Bush dynasty, supported Hitler until they faced potential criminal prosecution.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in; font-weight: bold;"><span class="arttext" style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">4.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" ><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span></span></span>We have staged coups and incursions the world over (our interventions are far too numerous to document in this dispatch, but <a href="http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Foreign_Policy/US_ForeignPolicy.html">visit this site</a> to familiarize yourself with the reach of our malevolent imperialist tentacles. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in; font-weight: bold;"><span class="arttext" style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">5.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" ><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span></span></span>Ironically, we justify our trillion dollar a year military budget by waging wars against nations with phantom weapons of mass destruction–while we are the only nation to have deployed such weapons. Ask <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Japan</st1:place></st1:country-region> about the devastating impact.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in; font-weight: bold;"><span class="arttext" style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">6.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" ><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span></span></span>We pour billions of dollars into the support of those miserable Zionist squatters in Palestine because a very small percentage of our population (which has very deep pockets, a strangle-hold on mass media, and a juggernaut lobbying organization) has many of us brain-washed into believing “poor little Israel” is fighting for its very existence—when the reality is that it has a more formidable military than all of its alleged threats combined and has ruthlessly brutalized the Palestinians like the terrorist state that it is.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in; font-weight: bold;"><span class="arttext" style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">7.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" ><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span></span></span>We slaughtered over two million Vietnamese in an attempt to keep the world safe for capitalism and are poised to consider putting one of the perpetrators in the White House.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in; font-weight: bold;"><span class="arttext" style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">8.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" ><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span></span></span>We have murdered untold millions of Iraqis since the Gulf War via invasion, brutal economic sanctions, fomenting civil war and chaos, illegal occupation, and destruction of infrastructure. And neither of the performers in the theater of the absurd we call a “presidential election” has promised to bring an immediate end to this moral and legal abomination. If we enforced the Nuremberg Laws that WE crafted, all responsible would be hanged, including whoever replaces Bush and perpetuates this genocide.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="arttext"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; font-weight: bold;"><span class="arttext" style="font-size:100%;">And that is just a brief and very incomplete summary of the evil that we openly or tacitly support simply by being Americans, even if our role is very banal or pedestrian. As cogs in a murderous machine built on stolen land and primarily with the blood, sweat and tears of slaves and poor immigrants, we all bear a degree of responsibility for the atrocities we commit. Even those who choose to remain and fight the system from within are still buttressing the <st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on">American Way</st1:address></st1:street> to some extent.</span></p><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" class="arttext" ><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /></span><span class="arttext" style="font-size:100%;">I left in his commentary on the "facts" to provide color and help you gain more insight into his world view. I don't disagree with a single point he makes... I suppose I don't see evil in everything that's there... I see it as a reality that must change, but not something that can be judged by a higher power that we must pay for in "karma".<br /><br />That said... his article had a profound effect on me in that I agree with much of what he believes, its the tone and manner that I find a bit dramatic and... perhaps... not helpful. If I go around calling people names, I'll simply turn them away. I prefer to show reality through fact, comment on it from my perspective, and then use my sense of ethics and morality to find solutions rather than screaming that we are infants. We simply ARE the result of a coming together of many forces and perhaps need to wake up to these forces to bring about positive change.<br /><br />But I appreciate Jason's perspective... because I firmly believe that extremes move the middle... and ultimately its the middle that everyone seeks as we search for balance in our lives and our perspectives on reality. To read Jason's full paper, go </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" class="arttext" ><a href="http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/article_27390.shtml">here</a>.<br /></span>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286286747217122165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047867913690947011.post-88900338186412420962008-07-12T10:41:00.008-04:002008-11-13T05:32:36.167-05:00Because Freedom Can't Wait For The Next PresidentThanks to the ACLU and Electronic Frontier Foundation, we the people of these United States have one last opportunity to stop the government from spying on us without redress. This is a short post today to provide you with information about the suits and links to follow their progress.<br /><br />The ACLU suit is summarized on http://www.aclu.org/safefree/nsaspying/faachallenge.html and go <a href="http://blog.aclu.org/2008/07/10/jameel-jaffer-explains-the-aclus-fisa-lawsuit/">here</a> for a conversation with Glenn <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Greenwalk</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Jameel</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Jaffer</span>, Director of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">ACLU's</span> National Security Project.<br /><br />The Electronic Frontier Foundation has filed a class action lawsuit against AT&amp;T <span style="font-style: italic;">(</span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Hepting</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> v. AT&amp;T) which may now be voided thanks to Congress,</span> and describe their strategy post <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">FISA</span> signing <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/continue">here</a>. Because I'm feeling patriotic today, I thought I would end this entry by providing the logo of the National Security Agency who has a SERIOUSLY PISSED OFF EAGLE on it. Oh, and that "key" that it's clutching in its <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">talons (its prey of course)</span>... that's the key to your front door and phone and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Internet</span> and financial information. Now, say after me... I pledge allegiance to the flag, of the National Security State.... with liberty and justice for all. I forget, am I supposed to say "amen" at the end?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SHjGtnN-mxI/AAAAAAAAALI/-QkA9Cll-t0/s1600-h/Picture+5.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SHjGtnN-mxI/AAAAAAAAALI/-QkA9Cll-t0/s400/Picture+5.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222142254860114706" border="0" /></a>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286286747217122165noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047867913690947011.post-64544903474139181162008-07-11T22:21:00.007-04:002008-11-13T05:32:36.294-05:00FISA Signed, Feeling Blue, But Still Red With AngerThe last two days have been simply an amazing whirlwind of political debate, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">netroots</span> action and a groundswell of anger over the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">FISA</span> bill. The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">FISA</span> bill as you can see has been taking my attention... but watching the dynamics of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">FISA</span> breakaway community on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">MYBO</span> has been <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">captivating</span>.<br /><br />After a couple of days, the rhetoric and anger has settled into kind of a muted sense of lost hope and despair as progressives and people who REALLY CARE about constitutional issues seem to be settling into a <span style="font-style: italic;">"OK, there's not much I can do about this now, I'm going to send my money elsewhere and just vote for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Obama</span>"</span>.<br /><br />Additionally, it appears to me that the folks at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Obama</span> headquarters looked at the sheer disaster facing them and decided to go with a sort of kind and gentle approach that sounded something like this: <span style="font-style: italic;">"<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">OK</span> everyone, now that you have had a chance to cool down, let's just be reasonable. He is still the same man we love and care about and he's going to revisit this once he gets into office... the bill does not do THAT MUCH harm so lets all just hold hands again and get him elected."</span><br /><br />After nearly 25,000 people joined the Get It Right Group on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">MyBo</span>, the news media started to catch wind of this. The group... in which I am a member, is the largest group on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">MYBO</span>, formed a new website, http://www.getfisaright.com/, started a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">FISA</span> activist wiki, started a very large <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Facebook</span> group and began urging members to donate to the ACLU, Electronic Frontier Foundation and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Bluesky</span>.org.<br /><br />Will Mitchell, the rep for the group hand delivered a letter to the Senator that reads:<br /><blockquote style="font-weight: bold;">We ask that you back up your words with action by addressing your constituents on the floor of the Senate with the same oratorical power you used in Philadelphia to lay out your vision of a 'More Perfect Union.' The American people have just as much right to know of the dangerous precedent this Congress would be setting by granting retroactive immunity to those who "may have violated the law" and allowing spying on law-abiding citizens .... We ask you to reconsider your current position on the bill as a whole and strongly oppose a bill about which you said, "I know that the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">FISA</span> bill that passed the House is far from perfect. I wouldn't have drafted the legislation like this, and it does not resolve all of the concerns that we have about President Bush's abuse of executive power."<br /><p> In your statement you also wrote, "In a dangerous world, government must have the authority to collect the intelligence we need to protect the American people. But in a free society, that authority cannot be unlimited." We agree.</p></blockquote><blockquote style="font-weight: bold;">We appreciate your willingness to continue the discussion. We represent a large and vocal part of the movement you have nurtured and that has nurtured you during this campaign season, and include many of your most active and ardent supporters. As you have said time and again Senator, "we are the ones we have been waiting for," and we are here, working to bring about real change in Washington. We have grown to over 20,000 strong in the space of just a few days.</blockquote>I also want to provide you with a taste of the debate going on in the group <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">listserv</span>... its one of the most profound <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">netroots</span> flash movements I have ever seen. The amazing thing is that the very tools that the campaign created to get Senator <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Obama</span> the nomination could be the same that could ruin his chances <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SHger8p5plI/AAAAAAAAALA/p9BkZ779sXQ/s1600-h/Picture+3.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SHger8p5plI/AAAAAAAAALA/p9BkZ779sXQ/s320/Picture+3.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221957508301170258" border="0" /></a>if he keeps veering off course and breaking promises. Its a truly delicate situation... these are the folks that walked districts, organized grass roots, rang door bells, called caucus delegates... you just don't take these people for granted.<br /><br />The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">internet</span> has given new life to the progressive movement and they are now MAD AS HELL AND NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE. I would suggest that the Senator from Illinois tread lightly and not take these folks for granted again. Here is snapshot of my inbox: (click on it to enlarge)<br /><br /><br />This may die down, but on its face, this was one of the most intense couple of days I've seen in the land of politics... and while I was burning mad about "the betrayal" of the 4<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">th</span> Amendment, I now feel somewhat encouraged by the response of so many people to this. It could have gone unnoticed were it not for a newly <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">politiced</span> public. From one of the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">hero's</span> of the debate, Senator Chris <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Dodd</span>:<br /><blockquote><p><strong>A Heavy Heart </strong></p> <p><a href="http://jmbell.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/dodd-working.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1535" style="border: 1px solid black; float: left; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px;" title="dodd-working" src="http://jmbell.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/dodd-working.jpg" alt="" height="170" width="100" /></a>Yesterday was a sad day for the United States Senate.</p> <p>It is my hope that the courts will undo the damage done to the Constitution.</p> <p>But let us stand tall, knowing that by working together we were able to make wiretapping and retroactive immunity part of the national discourse these last number of months.</p> <p>We came together - all of you, Senator <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Feingold</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">bloggers</span> like Jane <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Hamsher</span> and Glenn <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">Greenwald</span>, organizations like the EFF and ACLU, and untold hundreds of thousands of Americans who simply wanted to make sure that this one, last insult did not happen with ease.</p> <p>I’m sorry we <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">weren</span>’t successful.</p> <p>I just hope I’m lucky enough to have you by my side in the next fight, whatever that may be.</p> <p>Thanks for all you’<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">ve</span> done.</p> <p>Chris <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">Dodd</span></p></blockquote>Thank you Senator and thanks to Senator <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">Feingold</span> as well. We do have some that we can count on perhaps, but this is an issue that's going to have to go to the courts.<br /><br />I was told today by one of my readers that they like the videos. So I'll end with a video. Note the particularly disturbing idea of WHY <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The Real News</span> believes the Democrats approved this bill: to give them cover in the event of a terrorist attack between now and the election. Essentially, they can't be BLAMED for not doing anything to stop it. I can't even comment its so despicable and cowardly if its actually true. Now we know who really frames the debate in this country for now and forever... the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">NeoCons</span>. I am rendered speechless. Enjoy and weep for us.<br /><br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/laTDJaXpiUg&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/laTDJaXpiUg&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286286747217122165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047867913690947011.post-45478593429545717612008-07-10T11:58:00.000-04:002008-07-10T12:07:00.988-04:0023,965 and Counting On the O'bama Internal InsurgencyThat's the number so far. By 5 times, the largest group on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">MYBO</span>. Its a sad state of affairs all around... but the interesting thing is that they created a very effective social networking site and then when the candidate betrays his Progressive base... no less on a CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUE... the issue that Progressives hold most dear... then your community will become your own worst enemy. Articles abound throughout the media and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">blogosphere</span> about this phenomenon and I frankly find it more than fascinating to watch. I'll reprint a copy of my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">listserv</span> inbox later to show the level of anger being directed at the presumed nominee for the Democratic party. It could change now.<br /><br />One of the things I find most interesting is a move by the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">MYBO</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">FISA</span> group to organize and begin contacting delegates and registering their feelings. This will hit at the heart of the presumed nominee and if delegates start to bail... all hell could break loose unless <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Obama</span> somehow, someway, stops the bleeding. I am now going to reprint a letter that one <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">MYBO</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">FISA</span> member posted to the group. Its a letter she wrote to her delegate who happens to be in the district (I believe) where the convention is being held.<br /><br /><br />To Mari, the CD15 delegate to DENVER:)<br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><br />Mari,<br /><br />After today's vote in the Senate approving the passage of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">FISA</span> bill, wherein Senator <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Obama</span> voted in its favor, I am withdrawing from the campaign. </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> Many times on the campaign trail I've been asked "why should I vote for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Obama</span>?" And I've answered, "because Senator <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Obama</span> will bring us back our Constitution that has been shredded by the Bush administration. </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">I have spent most of today in tears, and have spent many more days discussing this issue with other <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Obama</span> supporters. There are 30,000 of us, represented by the largest group on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">mybo</span>, in shock over Senator <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Obama's</span> decision: Senator <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Obama</span> - Please Vote NO on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Telecom</span> Immunity - Get <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">FISA</span> Right.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">When I called the Chicago <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Obama</span> headquarters today I actually reached and spoke with two live aides. Admittedly, during the first conversation, I cried, but made my message loud and clear and coherent.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Barack</span> was given a second chance to live up to his promise to uphold the Constitution today on the Senate floor. He failed to provide either an explanation to his supporters for his support of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">FISA</span> bill,or to to vote against it. Oddly, Senator Clinton, for whatever reason, voted against it.<br /><br />Mari, you, as our elected delegate, represent the constituents and, as such, are required to listen to the voice of the people, even when we are dissenting.<br /><br />A time line of Senator <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Obama's</span> stand on the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">FISA</span> bill, which strips our constitutional rights, follows. His most recent statement of July 3 contradicts all previous promises. </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">My letter to Senator <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Obama</span> follows:</span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color:#3333ff;"><b>Dear Senator <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Obama</span>,</b></span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color:#3333ff;"><b> </b></span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color:#3333ff;"><b>Your decision today to support the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">FISA</span> bill has nullified my belief in you and your campaign for change and hope.</b></span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color:#3333ff;"><b> </b></span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color:#3333ff;"><b>My passion is gone; it has vanished having seen your behavior in the face of putting action where your mouth is. Today, you had the opportunity to speak out as a scholar of Constitutional law to uphold our Constitution, but did not. Today you had the opportunity to vote to uphold our Constitution but did not. Yet you are in fact, under oath to do so. </b></span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color:#3333ff;"><b> </b></span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color:#3333ff;"><b>Senator <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">Obama</span>, If you do remain the candidate after the Convention, which I now believe will be a disputed and brokered convention, I will still vote for you, but only with the diminished enthusiasm of a "lesser of two evils" vote. I am appalled by your unwillingness to speak up on the Senate floor yesterday or today against this egregious piece of legislation. For whatever reason, Senator Clinton changed her mind and opposed the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">FISA</span> legislation, unlike you. Supporting <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">FISA</span> was not necessary to win over the conservative vote; it only makes you look disingenuous in the eyes of the nation. </b></span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color:#3333ff;"><b> </b></span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color:#3333ff;"><b>Please return all donations I have made to your campaign. I will give this money, and more as I can afford, to Senator <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">Feingold's</span> effort to support our Constitution.</b></span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color:#3333ff;"><b> </b></span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color:#3333ff;"><b>What do I tell my 87 year old parents who were long time Clinton supporters who I've passionately converted to your campaign? They have too much class and compassion to say to me: "I told you so".By the way, Ralph Nader has posted "I told you so" to the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">mybo</span> blog.</b></span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color:#3333ff;"><b> </b></span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color:#3333ff;"><b>Since I began campaigning for you in January, I had put aside most of my efforts for my small business, and intended to do so until you were elected. Now I've now changed my mind. You are not who I thought you were. You are not the candidate who promised to support a filibuster of any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies. </b></span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color:#3333ff;"><b> </b></span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color:#3333ff;"><b>I have donated countless hours to your campaign; this can't be replaced. I have entreated hours of aid from my 12 year old son for your campaign; this can't be replaced. My passion has been felt by all those I'm around; from my neighbors to the grocery store to the gas station and to hours on the campaign trail. </b></span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color:#3333ff;"><b>This too is irreplaceable.</b></span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color:#3333ff;"><b> </b></span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color:#3333ff;"><b>I am heartbroken.</b></span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color:#3333ff;"><b> </b></span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color:#3333ff;"><b>Good luck to you, Senator.</b></span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color:#3333ff;"><b> </b></span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color:#3333ff;"><b> </b></span></span></span></span>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286286747217122165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047867913690947011.post-42638813037027023102008-07-10T08:32:00.001-04:002008-07-10T08:41:44.793-04:00Jonathan Turley on Keith Olbermann about FISA<b>Jonathan <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Turley</span></b> is a professor of law at the George Washington University <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Law school</span> where he holds the Shapiro Chair for Public Interest Law. He has a long history of interesting cases such as Terry <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Schiavo</span> and suing the government on behalf of sick workers from none other than Area 51.<br /><br />He says it as well as it can be said about what happened yesterday and then I'll move along to other topics. I will say that watching the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">FISA</span> group <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">ListServ</span> email system light up last night was one of the most <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">extraordinary</span> experiences of my life and I will be writing on that in great detail as I believe a new movement is emerging among progressive Americans to throw the entire Democratic Senate and House out of office. They'll need replacements and I am willing to bet that new Democrats who respect the constitution will send many of them packing. Here is Jonathan <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Turley</span>:<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wmot0aZy4MM&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wmot0aZy4MM&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286286747217122165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047867913690947011.post-75198799948465304822008-07-10T01:47:00.003-04:002008-07-10T01:56:46.887-04:00Chaos on MyBarakObama.comTo view the thousands of justifiably angry people on his website is a something to behold. I believe the number of dissenters is near 22,000 and the anger just seems to rise by the minute.<br /><br />This was pure betrayal on his part. It is an inconceivable blunder that could take the wind out of the sails of this campaign. I just got off the phone with a lovely woman named Karen who was an organizer for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Obama</span> in Berkeley, California and she called me out of the blue... a total stranger because she was so upset she needed someone to talk to. I had blogged on the website to tell him that he had lost my vote and I felt there was no excuse for him voting for this bill. There is and never will be any good reason to vote away the protections guaranteed to us in the Bill Of Rights. Particularly when he had said so many times that he was against it and going to filibuster it.<br /><br />Anyway, now my attention shifts to the ACLU. They are seizing this and filing suit the moment Bush signs it into law. I donated and now want to let you know that you can help them. They will be running full page ads in major newspapers with thousands of names of Americans who demand their rights. Here is the text of their call to action:<br /><br />D<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">ear Friend,</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Cowed by the Bush administration's <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">pre</span>-election scare tactics, the Senate passed privacy-stealing <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">FISA</span> legislation undermining your Fourth Amendment rights.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">It's outrageous, unconstitutional and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">un</span>-American. That's why the ACLU is prepared to challenge this law the moment George Bush signs it -- and you can rest assured, they'll be meeting our lawyers in court.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">ACLU's</span> lawsuit will send a powerful message to those in Congress who played it safe when they had the opportunity to defend the Constitution. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">In addition, the ACLU will be taking out a full-page ad in a major national newspaper announcing their lawsuit and expressing outrage at this abandonment of our Constitutional principles. Their goal is to run an ad containing the names of tens of thousands of Americans who believe in the Constitution and want Congress to hear us loud and clear: next time, stand up for our rights.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">You can sign your name to the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">ACLU's</span> ad by visiting:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">http://action.firedoglake.com/page/s/fisaad<br /><br /></span>I signed, and I hope you do too. <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><br /></span>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286286747217122165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047867913690947011.post-34638102684452411902008-07-09T14:30:00.005-04:002008-11-13T05:32:36.367-05:00Washington Post Ad This Morning About FISAStill standing on my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">FISA</span> soapbox, I'm providing a copy of the ad placed in the Washington Post this morning by Blue America and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Colorofchange</span>.org <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">PACs</span>. I'm enclosing the ad because it provides needed specific "soundbites" about the truth behind the cover of this bill that permanently changes the game of federally authorized spying. You can click on it to enlarge and read, and I encourage you to read <a href="http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/07/08/accountability/index.html">Glen <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Greenwald's</span> piece</a> in Salon where he provided the downloadable pdf of the ad.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SHUG4jvBRrI/AAAAAAAAAK4/Yz8DE39_Zz4/s1600-h/wp_fisa2_final.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SHUG4jvBRrI/AAAAAAAAAK4/Yz8DE39_Zz4/s400/wp_fisa2_final.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221086911740855986" border="0" /></a>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286286747217122165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047867913690947011.post-26391746808353506392008-07-09T09:34:00.006-04:002008-07-09T10:56:37.441-04:00McClatchey Newspapers Gets It Right, AgainAs an addendum to my angry post of last night, I feel compelled to share more about WHY I, and so many other Americans, are in a state of shock and boiling anger over the FISA bill which will be voted into law today.<br /><br />There is but one newspaper company that has had it right all along since the 9/11 scam and its McClatchey. They also have watched the elite trade away our rights for greater control and done so while a sleeping nation of ill informed and poorly educated "consumers" allows them to do it... believing incorrectly that they'll be "safer". (Hint: You cannot trade away your freedom to gain greater safety. History has taught us this time and again that the exact opposite is true.)<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Pick up a copy of Naomi Klein's book </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine">"The Shock Doctrine"</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> if you want to see how easy it is to fool people into thinking that giving up their rights will make them safer. If it weren't true, it would make for great comedy. </span><br /><br />From <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/galloway/story/43123.html">Joseph Galloway of McClatchey Newspapers</a>:<br /><p style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> Early next week <span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">(TODAY)</span> the U.S. Senate will vote on an extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, with a few small amendments intended to immunize telecommunications corporations that assisted our government in the warrantless and illegal wiretapping it has grown to love. </p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> That such a gutting of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution even made it out of committee is yet another stain on the gutless and seemingly powerless Democratic majority in both houses of Congress.</p><p style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">That a majority on both sides of the aisle — not least of them the presumptive nominees for president of both political parties — intend to vote for such a violation of Americans' right to privacy and of the sanctity of their personal communications is a stunning surrender to those who want us to live in fear forever.</span> </p>The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution reads: <span style="font-style: italic;">"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."<br /><br /></span>Then Galloway puts this bill and the congress and our shameful recent history into perfect historical context:<br /><p style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">We have done incalculably more and greater damage to ourselves since September 11, 2001, than a thousand bin Ladens and ten thousand al Qaida recruits could ever have done to us. </p><p style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Franklin D. Roosevelt famously declared that "we have nothing to fear but fear itself." Now it would seem that we have no one to fear but ourselves and our leaders.</p><p style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The questions I pose are these:</p><p style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">How can even one senator on either side of the aisle in good conscience vote in favor of this law that does nothing to enhance our security and everything to diminish our rights as a free people?</p><p style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">How can both men who seek to become our next president cast such a vote when both should be standing shoulder-to-shoulder declaring that they would govern by our consent and with our approval, not by wielding the coercive and corrosive and corrupt powers that King George III and his latter-day namesake from Texas thought are theirs by divine right?</p>Unfortunately, I think I know the answers to his questions. <span style="font-style: italic;">(And, I think most truly informed Americans know the answer and wonder what has to happen to make it change; but don't dare speak that truth out loud for fear of their jobs and even their lives.)</span> The congress has conveniently ignored the constitution long before 9/11 (to its own detriment) and will continue to do so. Why? Because there is a much greater power that runs this country than the voters... and they call the shots.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286286747217122165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047867913690947011.post-8798709937915129092008-07-09T00:23:00.011-04:002008-07-09T10:01:32.870-04:00FISA, and the End Of The Fourth Amendment<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">FISA</span>... its a four letter word... it mean the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Or in slang, The United States Constitution is no loner <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">intACT</span>. The Democrats are to blame for this shameful day that will live in history as a key date in what could be the last vestige of protection of our privacy. And THE DEMOCRATS will go down in history for negotiating away the protections afforded to us by the constitution.<br /><br />I am attaching the bill. Most people won't read or care... but if there is just one of you who will see this bill pass tomorrow... it could be YOU that is being under surveillance and you will have no legal protection against your so called democratically elected government. Its a day that all Americans should hang their head in shame.<br /><br />Funny... this is authored by a Rockefeller. Strange coincidence. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Obama</span> said he would filibuster this... he's not going to. It will pass tomorrow and the Bush legacy of spying on Americans with impunity will continue unabated.<br /><br />Note the amendments... these were added by those very few and brave Senators who wish to protect our rights and privacy by making the telecoms liable for handing over all of our personal communications for years. But these will not pass, and they will gain immunity... signaling to businesses and future governments that they can do the very same thing and gain immunity from breaking the law.<br /><br />For some color commentary on the debate to end our rights in the Senate, read the ACLU blog as it explains the feelings of complete and utter despair by the civil rights movement about this bill: http://blog.aclu.org/category/government-spying/<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">From the Democratic Policy Committee of Congress</span><br /><h1 class="doc-title"> H.R. 6304, the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">FISA</span> Amendments Act of 2008</h1><span class="body-text"><div class="Section1"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:22;" >Summary and Background</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Last summer, the Bush Administration came to Congress seeking emergency changes to the <i>Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act</i> (FISA) to address a gap that had arisen in our intelligence collection capabilities, according to administration officials. Democrats support giving the Intelligence Community the tools it needs to protect the nation from terrorism. However, many Democrats opposed the rushed legislation that ultimately resulted from the Administration's push, the <i>Protect America Act of 2007</i> (PAA). Before passage, Democrats succeeded in adding a six-month sunset to ensure the PAA would serve as only a temporary measure to address the intelligence gap while Congress considered longer-term amendments to the statute. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Over the past year, Senate and House Democrats have worked with their Republican counterparts, the Administration, the intelligence community, and privacy advocates to develop proposals for amendments to FISA that would give the intelligence community the flexibility it needs to safeguard our nation, while also providing strong protections for civil liberties. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">On June 19, Senator <b>Rockefeller</b>, Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), announced that a FISA amendments deal had been reached. </span><span style="font-family:Arial;">On June 25, the Senate voted to proceed with consideration of that legislation, <b>H.R. 6304</b>, the <i>FISA Amendments Act of 2008</i>. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">The bill would: </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Symbol;">•</span><span style="font-size:7;"> </span><span style="font-family:Arial;">Provide the Intelligence Community the tools it needs to target non-U.S. persons reasonably believed to be outside the United States;</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Symbol;">•<span style=""> </span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;">Increase the role of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) in reviewing and approving targeting and minimization procedures, ensure that traditional FISA warrant rules still apply for purely domestic communications, require the government to establish guidelines to protect Americans against reverse targeting, and require FISA Court orders prior to surveillance or physical searches of U.S. persons abroad; </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Symbol;">•<span style=""> </span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;">Grant the telecommunication companies immunity from civil liability, provided a federal district court determines that the Attorney General's certification that immunity applies is supported by substantial evidence;</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Symbol;">•</span><span style="font-size:7;"> </span><span style="font-family:Arial;">Provide</span><span style="font-family:Arial;"> Court review of procedures before surveillance begins unless there are exigent circumstances, in which case they must seek approval from the FISA Court within seven days.<br /><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Symbol;">•</span><span style="font-size:7;"> </span><span style="font-family:Arial;">Require the Inspectors General of key agencies to conduct a retroactive review of the President's surveillance program and authorize them to investigate and audit surveillance authorized in this bill, require that additional data on surveillance be submitted to the Congress in semi-annual reports, and sunset the bill in four and a half years.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:22;" >Major Provisions</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:14;" > </span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:14;" >Title I - Foreign Intelligence Surveillance</span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">Additional Procedures Regarding Certain Persons Outside the United States. (Section 101). </span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">Definition of electronic surveillance <i>(Section 701)</i>. </span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;">The bill would reestablish the original definition of "electronic surveillance" in FISA and add a construction paragraph to ensure that new procedures may be used notwithstanding the definition of electronic surveillance.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">Procedures for targeting certain persons outside of the United States other than United States persons <i>(Section 702)</i>. </span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.15in;"><span style=";font-family:Symbol;font-size:9;" >•<span style=""> </span></span><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">Authorization. H.R. 6304</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;"> would grant the Attorney General (AG) and the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) the authority to target persons reasonably believed to be outside of the United States for the purpose of collecting intelligence for a period of up to one year from the effective date of the authorization. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.15in;"><span style=";font-family:Symbol;font-size:9;" >•<span style=""> </span></span><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">Limitations.</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;"> <b>H.R. 6304</b> includes specific limitations and prohibitions regarding the collection of information on American citizens. The bill states that an acquisition: 1) may not intentionally target any person known at the time of acquisition to be located in the United States; 2) may not intentionally target a person reasonably believed to be located outside the United States if the purpose of such acquisition is to target a particular, known person reasonably believed to be in the United States; 3) may not intentionally target a United States person reasonably believed to be located outside the United States; 4) may not intentionally acquire any communication as to which the sender and all intended recipients are known at the time of the acquisition to be located in the United States; and 5) shall be conducted in a manner consistent with the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The bill would require the AG to adopt guidelines to ensure that the government does not engage in any of this prohibited conduct and obtains individual court orders when required.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.15in;"><span style=";font-family:Symbol;font-size:9;" >•<span style=""> </span></span><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">Acquisition.</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;"> <b>H.R. 6304</b> provides for the involvement of the FISA Court in approving procedures for targeting foreigners outside of the U.S. that could involve U.S. persons (as outlined in the targeting and minimization procedures below). The legislation would require the court to approve targeting and minimization before collection begins unless the DNI and AG determine that exigent circumstances exist. Should the DNI and AG make this determination of exigent circumstances that intelligence important to U.S. national security may be lost or not timely acquired, an acquisition would be authorized to proceed prior to a court order. The AG and DNI would be required to submit procedures within seven days and the court would be required to make a determination within 30 days. The bill would require that all relevant minimization and reverse targeting guidelines would apply during this period.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.15in;"><span style=";font-family:Symbol;font-size:9;" >•<span style=""> </span></span><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">Targeting procedures. </span></b> <b><span style="font-family:Arial;">H.R. 6304</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;"> would require the AG, in consultation with the DNI, to adopt targeting procedures that are designed to ensure that any acquisition is limited to targeting persons reasonably believed to be located outside of the United States and prevent the acquisition of purely domestic communications. It also would require the AG and DNI to submit these targeting procedures to the FISA Court for review and approval. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.15in;"><span style=";font-family:Symbol;font-size:9;" >•<span style=""> </span></span><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">Minimization procedures.</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;"> <b>H.R. 6304</b> would require the AG, in consultation with the DNI, to adopt minimization procedures used to address any incidental acquisition, retention or dissemination of U.S. person information, in order to protect the privacy of any Americans who might be in contact with a foreign target. The bill requires that these procedures be approved by the FISA Court.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.15in;"><span style=";font-family:Symbol;font-size:9;" >•<span style=""> </span></span><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">Judicial review of certifications and procedures. H.R. 6304</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;"> would require prior FISA Court review of minimization and targeting procedures, as specified above, and require that judicial review of procedures be completed within 30 days.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.15in;"><span style=";font-family:Symbol;font-size:9;" >•<span style=""> </span></span><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">Assessments and reviews.</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;"> <b>H.R. 6304</b> would require that the AG and DNI assess compliance with targeting and minimization procedures semiannually, and submit each assessment to the FISA court and congressional intelligence and judiciary committees.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">Electronic surveillance of United States persons outside the United States <i>(Section 703).</i></span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;"> <b>H.R. 6304</b> would require the FISA Court to make an individual determination of probable cause before a U.S. person outside the United States may be targeted for electronic surveillance. It specifies that each court order would valid for no longer than 90 days. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">Foreign intelligence collection on United States persons outside the United States <i>(Section 704).</i> H.R. 6304</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;"> would require the FISA Court to make an individual determination of probable cause before a U.S. person overseas may be targeted for any foreign intelligence collection. This court order also would be valid for no longer than 90 days.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Provisions included in Sections 703 and 704 are intended to ensure that Americans traveling or working abroad are entitled to the same protections from surveillance and search that they would have if located in the United States.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">Congressional Oversight <i>(Section 707).</i></span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;"> <b>H.R. 6304</b> includes a provision that would require the AG to submit a semiannual report to congressional intelligence committees and the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and House of Representatives regarding compliance and noncompliance with the provisions of section 702. The bill also provides that the report must include the number of applications made, granted, modified, denied, as well as emergency acquisitions authorized by the AG under Sections 703 and 704. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">Exclusivity (Section 102). H.R. 6304</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;"> restates the 1978 FISA exclusivity provision and strengthens language to ensure that domestic electronic surveillance can be done using only FISA, criminal wiretap statues, or future statutes that expressly authorize electronic surveillance. This provision effectively prevents the use of Authorizations for Use of Military Force as the statutory basis for circumventing FISA. The bill also provides that criminal and civil penalties can be imposed for any electronic surveillance that is not conducted in accordance with FISA or specifically listed criminal intercept laws.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">Submittal to Congress of certain court orders under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (Section 103).</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;"> <b>H.R. 6304</b> would require the Attorney General to submit in its semiannual reports to congressional Intelligence and Judiciary committees a copy of any decision, order, or opinion issued by the FISA Court or FISA Court of Review that provide a significant construction or interpretation of any provision of this Act and any pleadings, applications, or memoranda of law associated with this decision, order, or opinion, no later than 45 days after its issuance as well as those issued during the five-year period ending on the date of the <i>FISA Amendments Act of 2008</i> and not previously submitted in a report.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">Weapons of Mass Destruction (Section 110). H.R. 6304</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;"> would amend FISA to allow foreign intelligence collection against proliferators of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The bill would narrow the definition of WMD to ensure that only weapons capable of causing serious bodily injury to a significant number of persons are included.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:14;" >Title II - Protections for Electronic Communication Service Providers</span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">Procedures for implementing statutory defenses under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (Section 202). H.R. 6304 </span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;">would amend FISA to permit civil liability protection for electronic communication service providers who participated in the President's post-9/11 surveillance program, provided the district court finds that the Attorney General's certification that liability protection should apply is supported by "substantial evidence." The certification must include a showing that the companies' cooperation was in connection with a program authorized between September 11, 2001 and January 17, 2007, and designed to detect or prevent a terrorist attack, and the company received a written request or directive from the Attorney General or the head of an element of the Intelligence Community that indicated the program was authorized by the President and determined to be lawful. In making the "substantial evidence" determination, the district court will have the opportunity, <i>in camera</i> and <i>ex parte</i> if necessary, to examine these highly classified communications between the Administration and the companies. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">H.R. 6304</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;"> would also amend FISA to provide a mechanism for the court to assess whether individuals who assisted the government pursuant to court order, statutory certifications, or Protect America Act directives should be entitled to immunity, even if those orders, certifications or directives are classified. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">H.R. 6304 </span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;">would further require that plaintiffs and defendants have the opportunity to file public briefs on legal issues and that the court include in any public order a description of the legal standards that govern the order.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family:Arial;">NOTE: The immunity provision of the Act does not apply to any actions against the government for any alleged injuries caused by government officials, nor does the immunity provision involve any statement by the Congress on the legality or illegality of the President's program.</span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:14;" >Title III - Review of Previous Actions</span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:14;" > </span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">Inspector General review (Section 301). H.R. 6304 </span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;">would require the Inspectors General of the Department of Justice, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the National Security Agency, and the Department of Defense to complete a comprehensive review of the President's surveillance program within one year and submit an unclassified report to Congress, with a classified annex, if necessary. This review would provide comprehensive facts about the program to Congress and the public.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:14;" >Title IV - Other Provisions</span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">Repeals (Section 403). </span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;"> <b>H.R. 6304</b> would repeal the <i>Protect America Act of 2007 </i>(PAA). Existing orders, authorizations, and directives under the PAA, however, would remain in effect until their expiration. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">H.R. 6304 </span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;">would sunset on December 31, 2012, to allow the next administration to evaluate how the new authorities are carried out and to ensure that abuses do not occur before authorities are further extended. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:22;" >Legislative History</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">In August 2007, Congress passed the <i>Protect America Act of 2007</i> (PAA), which provided temporary amendments to the <i>Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978</i> while Congress considered longer-term amendments. Congress spent the next several months negotiating a bill in the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence</span><span style="font-family:Arial;"> (SSCI) and the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. On October 26, 2007, SSCI favorably reported <b>S. 2248</b>, the <i>FISA Amendments Act of 2007, </i>by a vote of 13 to 2. On November 15, 2007, the Senate Judiciary Committee reported the measure with an amendment in the nature of a substitute by a vote of 10 to 9. This vote was ratified the following day. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">After an agreement was reached to return to the bill during the second session of the 110<sup>th</sup> Congress, the Senate resumed consideration of <b>S. 2248</b>, with the Judiciary Committee's substitute as the pending amendment on January 23, 2008. The substitute was later tabled. On February 12, the Senate passed the bill and incorporated its text in <b>H.R. 3773</b>, the House version of the <i>FISA Amendments Act</i>, entitled the <i>Responsible Electronic Surveillance <span class="grame">That</span> is Overseen, Reviewed, and Effective Act of 2007, </i>as an amendment. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Since that time, House and Senate leaders have sought to negotiate compromise legislation<i>. </i>On June 19, Senator <b>Rockefeller</b>, Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), announced that a deal had been reached. On June 20, the House passed </span><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">H.R. 6304</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;">, the <i>FISA Amendments Act of 2008</i> on a vote of 293 to 129.</span><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span><span style="font-family:Arial;">On June 25, the Senate agreed to the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to the legislation on a 80 to 15 vote.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:22;" >Statement of Administration Policy</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">On June 19, the Attorney General and Director of National Intelligence submitted a letter of support for <b>H.R. 6304 </b>to Speaker of the House Pelosi.</span><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:22;" >Possible Amendments</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;">Amendments are expected to </span><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">H.R. 6304</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;">, including:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Symbol;">•<span style=""> </span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;">An amendment to strike Title II;</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Symbol;">•<span style=""> </span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;">A substitute amendment that includes Titles I, III, and IV, but does not include Title II;</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Symbol;">•<span style=""> </span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;">An amendment to </span><span style="font-family:Arial;">stay all pending cases against the telecommunications companies and delay the effective date of Title II until 90 days after Congress receives the Inspectors General report regarding the President's surveillance program; and</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Symbol;">•<span style=""> </span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;">An amendment to require the district court to make a determination as to whether the telecommunication companies' participation in the President's surveillance program was constitutional.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;">As it becomes available, the DPC will distribute additional information on amendments.</span></p> </div></span>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286286747217122165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047867913690947011.post-6190547350572199392008-07-03T13:16:00.003-04:002008-07-03T13:24:16.250-04:00Gore Vidal on The National Security StateThis video is a more a plug for The REAL NEWS NETWORK that has become a darling for Gore Vidal. I believe mightily in what Gore has to say as he has always had to courage to pull back the curtain back and reveal the "newstainment" that is being orchestrated to control what we think we know and believe.<br /><br />He has made a new documentary with The REAL NEWS NETWORK called "The History of the National Security State" and rightly claims in this short clip what I have been saying all along. We live in a Fascist-like military controlled state that manufactures wars to feed itself.<br /><br />Have a look... I may get the documentary for reference and to see if it reveals anything new. I suspect it won't, but I love to hear Gore talk about recent history that most Americans know absolutely nothing about.<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9kAGHBKwFLE&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9kAGHBKwFLE&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286286747217122165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047867913690947011.post-31305326243368386612008-07-03T11:04:00.012-04:002008-11-13T05:32:36.925-05:00Incompetence and Coincidence at GITMO<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SGz2skv4xTI/AAAAAAAAAKY/giETgXKTVAQ/s1600-h/0,,1210664_1,00.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SGz2skv4xTI/AAAAAAAAAKY/giETgXKTVAQ/s320/0,,1210664_1,00.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218817313854768434" border="0" /></a>Kudos to Scott Shane, reporter from the New York Times for revealing what is one of the most unbelievable stories to come out of the sad sad saga of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">GITMO</span>. In his <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/02/us/02detain.html?hp=&amp;adxnnl=1&amp;pagewanted=1&amp;adxnnlx=1215101222-8ooFgVwBdHSWocPfkGjMvQ"><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">article</span></a> yesterday, Scott reveals that the torture methods, or "interrogation" methods (sorry about that George and Dick, don't want to besmirch your reputations) came from a chart developed by a program called SERE. I'll let Scott tell it, he writes better than I do:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The military trainers who came to </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Guantanamo Bay in December 2002 based an entire interrogation class on a chart showing the effects of “coercive management techniques” for possible use on prisoners, including “sleep deprivation,” “prolonged constraint,” and “exp</span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">osure</span>".</span> <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">"What the trainers did not say, and may not have known, was that their chart had been copied verbatim from a 1957 Air Force study of Chinese Communist techniques used during the Korean War to obtain confessions, many of them false, from American prisoners.</span> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The recycled chart is the latest and most vivid evidence of the way Communist interrogation methods that the United States long described as torture became the basis for interrogations both by the military at the base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and by the CIA. </p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SGz1wO6aAuI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/biH3tIWf6ik/s1600-h/images-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 158px; height: 142px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SGz1wO6aAuI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/biH3tIWf6ik/s320/images-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218816277201158882" border="0" /></a>Let's just call this the latest chapter of "you can't make this stuff up" from the battle front on the fake "War on Terror" that seems to be the only mission of the United States of America. Clearly, this represents a level of incompetence to a degree never imagined before and is so hilariously stupid that to actually conceive of this level of incompetence is almost unimaginable. All the while, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Addington</span> and Cheney and their crew are visiting <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">GITMO</span> regularly for the past 7 years and watching and lovingly adoring their brand new war and running roughshod over the laws of our land and international law.<br /><br />OK, let's take short look at this one more time... the military created this chart used by Chinese Communists to gain false confessions from American Soldiers and used it as a training guide to prepare American Soldiers for what was to happen to them in the event they were tortured, and train them to deal effectively with these techniques. Then it was recycled as an AMERICAN interrogation guide for AMERICAN captors to be used on prisoners at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib and the secret CIA prisons strewn throughout the world to get the TRUTH about their terror plans.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SGz2baNbNVI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/JMdQpl2KUvM/s1600-h/images.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 107px; height: 156px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SGz2baNbNVI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/JMdQpl2KUvM/s320/images.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218817018968094034" border="0" /></a>As this new set of revelations begins to reverberate and get digested by those who are paying attention, it just adds to the long list of atrocities perpetrated by our military and intelligence services. As more and more information comes out about <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">GITMO</span>... such as the incarceration of five men known as <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Uighurs</span> most of whom are Muslims, and have fought a low-level insurgency against Beijing’s rule for years. They were captured in Afghanistan and the U.S. had no case against them. So after holding them for 6 years at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">GITMO</span>, they were sent to live in Albania in a deal cut with the Chinese Government. SHAMEFUL!!!<br /><br />It just gets worse and worse for this sordid tale of an illegal prison paid for by American tax dollars and implemented by this administration. As Scott Shane reports, charges against <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Mohammed</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">al</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Qahtani</span>, suspected of being part of the 9/11 plot were dropped last May (no doubt because he was coerced into false confessions) and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Abd</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">al</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Rahim</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">al</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Nashiri</span>, a SUPPOSED <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Qaeda</span> member accused of playing a major role in the bombing of the American destroyer Cole in Yemen in 2000, was charged with murder and other crimes last Monday. But Mr. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Nashiri</span> was subjected to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">waterboarding</span>, and has said he confessed to participating in the bombing falsely only because he was tortured.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SGz2DrVSB6I/AAAAAAAAAKI/YKulk5BQOUQ/s1600-h/Picture+1.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 260px; height: 270px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SGz2DrVSB6I/AAAAAAAAAKI/YKulk5BQOUQ/s320/Picture+1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218816611247589282" border="0" /></a>Why is it that the rest of the world knows full well that torture produces false confessions, but we don't seem to know this? The British learned this 30 years ago when they used torture on the IRA only to receive no good information that led to further British troop deaths. Why are we so ignorant?<br /><br />I can already see the hearings coming in Congress. Once again we'll hear the same story... didn't know, incompetence, lack of oversight, coincidence.<br /><br />I see this a bit differently.<br /><br />Each time we hear the coincidence/incompetence defense by government officials it causes changes that are FAVORABLE to the ones who perpetrated the crime. Over and over again... with each seeming blunder, "reform" is made and the end result is that more money and resources flow into the military and intelligence communities to fix the problem.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I will also argue, that this was done very much on purpose.</span> Hiding behind the Patriot and Military Commissions Acts approved by our elected officials, these tactics and the destruction of our laws and morality as a nation have created an environment where false confessions are garnered as standard operation procedure and can be done in complete secrecy to innocent people branded "enemy combatants". Then, the "terrorists" or "enemy combatants" are sent away and the full story never gets told. And what is the full story?<br /><br />There is no organized "worldwide terror network" and that this state of permanent war that is draining the resources of our society benefits those in power by keeping our incredibly ill informed citizenry in a state of constant fear of attack. It then forever justifies the need for a bloated military that builds weapons systems costing billions and billions of dollars in order to fight NO ONE. (How many nuclear subs does it take to destroy Al <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Queda's</span> Navy, or B2 bombers to fight of Al <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Queda's</span> Air Force?) Why doesn't anyone get this? All the money goes to weapons systems... not fighting Al <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Queda</span>!! 20 minutes of basic research into the Pentagon budget and any idiot can easily see this to be true.<br /><br />Our military industrial complex NEEDS FALSE CONFESSIONS to provide the necessary framework for proof of a worldwide conspiracy to attack us. The methods which we employ to garner these confessions does not matter to them... it is a means to an end. THEY NEED A WAR!! And once the confession is made, the confessor can no longer prove they were lying.<br /><br />Whether or not we are our own worst enemy is not the story here... the story is that no matter what comes out of the awful recent history of our shameful behavior, the "WAR ON TERROR" will continue unabated as the propaganda machine has burnt into 300 million brains that this war actually exists. This "war" shapes every aspect of public discourse and the idea that it does not exist is not even discussed, nor the incredible sums of money spent on weapons systems to fight enemies that also don't exist. <span style="font-weight: bold;">NOT EVER DISCUSSED</span>.<br /><br />I'll let you in on an open secret... we created this war and will continue to foster it, feed it and nurture it. A lot of money can be made.Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286286747217122165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047867913690947011.post-10810736264861475592008-07-01T14:51:00.009-04:002008-11-13T05:32:37.041-05:00Casus Belli For War With IranFor the past several days I've been dizzy trying to stay ahead of world affairs and legal wrangling on the home front. While <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Addington</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Yoo</span> committed perjury before Congress, the Bush Administration... or let's just admit it... The Cheney Administration is moving full speed ahead by conducting a number of actions; covert and overt to justify "regime change" in Iran. The pressure could reach boiling point as it looks from my vantage point that Cheney is becoming increasingly desperate to get something started with the Mullahs in Iran before the Republicans are booted out of the White House later this year.<br /><br />Let's take a look at the larger context with which this is happening. The U.S. has now complete dominance of Iraq... building dozens of military bases and the largest embassy in the world. We have taken <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Afghanistan</span>, Lebanon is pot that is about to boil over, and Syria has been completely silenced after having been humiliated by the Israeli Air Force. As part of long term initiative to "sanitize" the Middle East, the only country left that has what we want... OIL... is Iran. As we ponder Cheney's desperation to control Tehran again, its important to understand why Iran is so terribly important to U.S. financial and thus, military interests.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SGp_t1QyYiI/AAAAAAAAAJo/hpaOwaBXI-k/s1600-h/Picture+1.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ym9M56N6dFs/SGp_t1QyYiI/AAAAAAAAAJo/hpaOwaBXI-k/s400/Picture+1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218123543630471714" border="0" /></a><br />It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the strategic importance of Iran in the scheme of global oil production, wealth creation and transmission. Besides having some <a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ir.html">138.4 billion bbl</a> of oil reserves, Iran sits squarely dead center in the Oil producing region of the Middle East... is geographically dominant over the northern portion of the Persian Gulf, and perfectly straddles the largest untapped reserves of oil and gas in the world on its northern border along the Caspian Sea.<br /><br />Combine this with an administration that is run by oil interests and we have the perfect storm. Iran is a major obstacle to Western Oil and Banking Cartels who want complete control of Middle East and South Asia oil and gas, and the plan to sanitize the entire corridor from Lebanon through to Pakistan is nearly complete except for Iran.<br /><br />Dick Cheney and friends, never to be deterred by law, morality, or the threat of world war, have a new plan. First, they have successfully removed every major internal barrier to war with Iran, from demanding resignation of General Fallon, to ignoring the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">NIE</span> estimate which revealed that Iran had stopped their nuclear <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">weapons</span> program in 2003, now claiming there is a parallel program that only the administration knows about. And most recently playing the "War on Terror" card to force the Democratically controlled congress to provide $400 Million in covert military funding to conduct operations inside Iran.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Sy</span> Hersh broke the story <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/07/07/080707fa_fact_hersh?currentPage=6">last week in the New Yorker</a>, as part of his ongoing series of articles about the U.S. obsession with Iran. Who knows how much of it is true other than the money was approved. No doubt members of Congress leaked the story as they are now realizing that they have been duped and will publicly be humiliated for funding this scheme which is completely at odds with the wishes of their constituencies.<br /><br />The truly sick and scary portion is in the interview portion on the web, where Hersh describes the Democratic leadership of Reid and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Pelosi</span> as being co-opted to fund this military game by threat of being called "soft on terror". BULLOCKS... COWARDICE. Shame on them!! We do not have a two party system in this country. <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Democrats do not represent our interests and are true cowards and will pay for this folly with their jobs. </span><br /><br />I find this new set of circumstances so troubling in so many ways I can't even count. Under what rationale or justification do we have the right to stir up trouble inside Iran? Its one thing to sit at the table across from them and demand that they play nicely with Iraq and the rest of their neighbors, its another to invade their borders with covert ops... as <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Sy</span> Hersh says <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">"The former official said that, a few weeks later, a meeting took place in the Vice-President’s office. The subject was how to create a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">casus</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">belli</span> between Tehran and Washington,” he said.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span>For those of you who don't speak Latin, <i style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Casus</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">belli</span></i><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"> is a Latin language expression meaning the justification for acts of war. </span><i style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Casus</span></i><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"> means "incident", "rupture" or indeed "case", while </span><i style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">belli</span></i><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"> means "of war".<br /><br /></span>So here we sit... the economy is in the toilet, the budget deficit is $400 billion and growing, unemployment dramatically rising, the cost of the two wars we're in is a $Billion a day, and the congress and the president have approved funding to find cause to attack Iran. How on earth do they believe that we have the capability of overthrowing the Iranians? A country of 65 million people, with immense oil wealth, a highly nationalized population that is very wary of the United States and knows exactly what we are trying to do... and by our wishes and petty anti-terror rationale, remove their <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">sovereignty</span> and rob them of their natural resources for our gain. Sickening.<br /><br />My question is what has to happen for us Americans to finally wake up and realize that we have become one of the most evil nations in history and put a stop to this endless war once and for all?<br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"></span>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286286747217122165noreply@blogger.com0